Dark Ideas
by mudget
Summary: 10 separate ficlets, each including a dark idea. Various characters. Written for OzQueene - happy birthday!


**Look at me publishing two fics in a day! If only it made up for my lack of updates **

**Anyway, this is a collection of 10 drabbles/ficlets written for OzQueene's birthday. Happy belated birthday! Lol at the un-birthday-ish theme XD**

**It's like it says on the label - each ficlet is based around the premise of Dark Ideas. Each looks at a different character and includes the Planeteers and the Eco-Villains, and even Captain Planet makes an appearance (I know, right!). Some are episode based, others are post-canon and the rest are concoctions of my twisted mind. Take heed that this are a serious and dark take on the CP world, so if you're expecting fluff, you won't find it here. Having said that, this fandom has so much potential for some darker concepts so go forth and uh enjoy! **

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><p><em>Dark Ideas<em>

**~ 1. Looten Plunder & Argos Bleak ~**

Argos Bleak looked up as he loaded the rifle into the back of the Jeep. Looten Plunder was striding towards him and he did not look pleased. Bleak sighed and muttered to himself.

"Bleak," barked Plunder, "hurry up and get those firearms loaded."

"Ready to move out when you are, Mr Plunder."

"Good. Those meddling brats have interfered for the last time." Plunder studied Bleak a moment, his expression hard and unreadable. "Finish this. Leave no trace," he added finally.

"You got it, boss," Bleak replied. He smirked, relishing the idea of being able to rid themselves of the brats_. Permanently_. He stepped to move to the cab of the Jeep.

"Oh and Bleak?"

He stopped and looked up. "Yeah, boss?"

"Fuck this up and you're on your own. I need my name clear. I suggest you don't give them cause to come looking this way."

Bleak swallowed. "Right, boss."

Plunder smirked. "Right then. Have fun. Happy shooting," he said cheerily. He strode off towards his waiting helicopter. Bleak watched his retreating back with a scowl and muttered under his breath again. He would have to make sure he was thorough. That didn't mean he couldn't make a game of it. He smiled to himself and climbed into the driver's seat with a whistle.

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><p><strong>~ 2. Linka ~<strong>

Her body ached and her mind howled for just one more fix. The euphoria lasted less and less each time and the need for more Bliss overpowered everything else. Her eyes felt gritty and dry and her skin itched and crawled. Her supply was running dangerously low and there were four people between her and the surplus of pills.

"Just give those Planet-punks a little push and I'll give you a _whole bottle_ of Bliss," promised Skumm, waving a stash of pills from within his helicopter, hovering a short distance away.

Linka looked between the bottle of Bliss and the Planeteers. They stood precariously on the edge of the building. She just had to push them over the edge and the pain would go away. The glowing pills drew her attention again as Skumm shook the bottle like a baby's rattle. Linka licked her cracked lips. Her fingers twitched in eagerness.

The Russian turned on Gi, who stared back with wide eyes. "Linka, no!" She edged backwards along the narrow platform, her hands running along the wall as she shook her head in horror.

"You do not understand, Gi. I need more Bliss." Linka followed the other woman, her hands outstretched and a dangerous glint in her eye. "Without it, the pain is too much."

Gi flicked her eyes to the boys. They were distracted, trying to fend off the horde that had followed through the windows. She couldn't use her ring without hurting Linka, or worse. She never thought she would be terrified of one of her best friends, but she had no doubt that Linka would kill her.

Skumm hissed a manic laugh, delighted by what he had created. He could be rid of the Planeteers and what better way than by one of their very own!

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><p><strong>~ 3. Gi ~<strong>

Gi leaned her head against the cool glass of the Geocruiser, feeling drained and exhausted. She felt sick at what she had almost done. If Wheeler hadn't stopped her…

She had been so wrapped in anger and fury and frustration. The tension of the past week, the drain of living around so many negative emotions, feeling disconnected from her friends and the uncertainty over whether David would pull through were all too much. She had finally snapped and, if she was completely honest with herself, it had felt good to release and to channel all of her anger. She had so much power at her fingertips. She could effortlessly take away his life as easily as he had tried to take away David's.

She sighed, the window fogging with her breath and she hugged herself. She wondered what Gaia would say. She had been so close to drowning Zapp. She stared down at her ring wrapped comfortably around her forefinger. Did she deserve to wield such a power?

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><p><strong>~ 4. Doctor Blight ~<strong>

"Looks like I have the perfect guinea pig to try out my new experiment," cooed Blight as she leaned over her victim. "MAL, hand me the syringe."

"No _please_, doctor?" replied MAL.

Blight turned and glared at the computer screen. "Now!"

"Alright, alright," MAL replied sulkily. "No need to get snippy." Using a robotic arm MAL opened the door to a small refrigerator and took out a filled syringe. Two vials sat on the shelf. He handed the syringe to Blight.

"You should feel very privileged to be the first person to try out my new serum. I've had to tweak the recipe a little since the last test subject started convulsing and frothing at the mouth and then died on me." She crinkled her nose in distaste. She put the syringe on the metal trolley beside her and picked up a tourniquet and alcohol swab. The Fire Planeteer's eyes widened and flicked to the awaiting syringe.

Blight slipped the tourniquet over Wheeler's arm and cinched it tight. She gripped Wheeler's wrist to straighten his elbow. When he struggled against her vice-like grip she pinned his arm down with her weight. His protests were muffled against the gag in his mouth and after a moment of further futile struggling his arm went limp. He scowled at her instead and mumbled an expletive.

"Now, now. Be good for the doctor. If you behave I'll give you a lollipop," she said sweetly with a smirk. She wiped his exposed arm with the swab. When he raised a questioning eyebrow at her she replied, "Wouldn't want you to get an infection now, would we?" Wheeler rolled his eyes.

She pulled the cap of the needled off with her teeth and spat it onto the floor, her other hand tapping at the veins on the inside of his arm. Wheeler clenched his fist and glared. He mumbled something against the gag again.

Blight sighed and irritably pulled down the piece of fabric, "What was that?"

"I said, you'll never get away with this, Blight!"

"Urgh, lame." She put the gag over his mouth again. "You'd think after all these years you could've come up with a better threat." She shrugged and holding the syringe up, flicked it to remove the air-bubbles and depressed the plunger slightly. Wheeler's eyes widened.

"Once I inject my mind-manipulating serum, I will have complete control over you and you'll have no choice but to do my bidding! And what's better than having an Eco-geek to do it for me?" She laughed manically. Wheeler shook his head and yelled against the gag.

As she injected the serum she said mildly, "If this works, I'll be able to sell this to the CIA. Then I can try my other experiment on biological warfare." She pulled out the needle and sighed happily. "I love being a scientist!"

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><p><strong>~ 5. Ma-Ti ~<strong>

Ma-Ti hugged his knees as he sat on the beach on Hope Island, the dying sun throwing an orange cast over everything. He rested his forehead against his legs and squeezed his eyes closed. He couldn't block out the images of the past two days from sight or settle the sick feeling in his stomach. So much destruction and death and pain, and all at the hands of the very people they were trying to help.

He looked up to stare out at the horizon. Seven years. Seven long years they had been campaigning and fighting to save the planet and it felt like they had taken a giant leap backwards. He had looked into the hearts of those people and was chilled by what he found. It was getting more and more difficult to maintain hope for the Earth and Her people. So many innocent creatures had needlessly lost their lives and he could do nothing to stop it.

He ran a finger over his ring. He _could_ stop it. A war of morals raged in his head. They had to willingly choose to change. He was not given the ring to force people into action. But what if it saved thousands – maybe even millions – of lives? Would that not be for the better? Has there not been enough death and violence already? It would solve so many of their problems. He would not even have to coerce them that much, just implant the idea. At least, he did not think he would need to.

Ma-Ti did not notice the surrounding darkness as the sun slipped beneath the horizon, lost in his thoughts and contemplations. He did not need to hear the thrumming of the cicadas and the cry of the terns to know they were there. He felt the ebb of energy from the creatures nearby and it tugged at his thoughts, tempting him to find the final solution that could save them all.

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><p><strong>~ 6. Kwame ~<strong>

Kwame sat beneath a skeletal tree, his elbows resting on his knees. He leaned his head against the trunk with a sigh. 'What was the point? People will never change their ways,' he thought bitterly to himself.

He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm and grimaced. He stank like trash. He ran a hand over his hair, sending bits of paper fluttering down in front of him. A grease stain marked his vest and added to the feeling of despair and hopelessness. It was all too much for them. It was too much for _him_. Gaia had picked the wrong person. He could not save the Earth. What was the point if the people here would not even help themselves. Instead they chose to live in their filth and garbage.

He felt a pang of guilt at abandoning his friends, but what use could he be? He had lost all hope and the ring would not work for him anymore. He was tired of seeing the same apathy wherever they went. He was tired of fighting a problem that was just too big for them all. Well, now it would no longer be his problem. He was done.

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><p><strong>~ 7. Duke Nukem ~<strong>

"With the entire world levelled by these atomic bombs I can feed off the radiation for a lifetime!" Duke Nukem announced excitedly, petting one of the shells. Leadsuit cringed away from the bank of bombs and chuckled nervously in response.

"You won't get away with this, Nukem!" exclaimed Gi, banging her fist against the plexiglass that enclosed her and the rest of the Planeteers. Captain Planet groaned from within his own cell, sagging to the ground in pain.

Nukem laughed. "I already have. While you and Planet wasted time I already detonated one of the bombs. You think I was going to wait for you to stop me? You might want to stay out of Europe for a while." He roared with laughter.

The Planeteers sank to the floor, unable to believe what they had heard. They had been too late. Even if the Duke did not launch the rest of his missiles, a nuclear war in retaliation was imminent. Ma-Ti held his head and whimpered, tears streaming down his face. Linka held a hand over her mouth feeling nauseous. She wondered if her family were still alive. Beside them, Captain Planet beat his fists against the wall of his containment and shouted, trying to break free. They couldn't believe Nukem would actually succeed. They had been too late and now they were trapped, hopeless to do anything to stop him and without their powers.

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><p><strong>~ 8. Wheeler ~<strong>

"I'll get you for this, Skumm!" yelled Wheeler. "Fire!" He aimed his ring at the platform Verminous Skumm was standing on. Flames erupted along the catwalk, encircling the giant rat. Wheeler watched from the doorway, the fire casting shifting shadows across his face and throwing an eery orange light over the room.

Skumm hissed and backed away from the engulfing fire, moving towards the ladder to make a hasty retreat. Wheeler smirked and called on his ring to shower embers in front of the rat's escape route.

"What's wrong, cheese-breath? Too hot for ya to handle?" Wheeler spat as Skumm looked around in panic and threw an arm up against the heat of the flames.

The smoke was thickening around him and he flinched at the sharp crack of burning wood and metal beneath his feet. "C-come on, kid," pleaded Skumm, his tail coiling around his leg. "You wouldn't burn me alive now, would you? Doesn't that go against your precious Eco-code or something?" Timber popped and hissed around him.

Wheeler didn't answer. He glared back at the trapped rat, his fist clenched and his ring glowing furiously.

The flames suddenly flared and Wheeler turned and limped away from the burning building, Skumm's cries for help just audible through the curtain of heat and roar of fire.

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><p><strong>~ 9. Leadsuit ~<strong>

Leadsuit climbed out of the heavy radiation suit and meticulously hung it up to dry. He took off his glasses to drag a finger across his eye before putting them back on and plopping down on the wooden bench. The air felt cool against his damp skin and he closed his eyes briefly with a sigh.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. He was exhausted and his head throbbed. His shoulder ached where he had struck against the doorway when Duke Nukem had blasted him across the room. He didn't know how much longer he could survive Nukem's temper tantrums. Or the consistent exposure to radiation.

He felt so worthless. Back when he had begun assisting Dr Nukem, before his accident, he had been treated reasonably. His research had been acknowledged. Now it was taken for granted. He had been the only one to stay with the nuclear physicist, but now he felt like his life was wasting away and he simply passed through each day waiting for it to be over. No one else would hire him, Nukem had seen to that. So he was destined to live out the rest of his days working for a mutant that could barely remember his name

He slowly stood and shuffled to his locker and dragged his clothes on. He wondered if it was a life worth living.

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><p><strong>~ 10. Captain Planet ~<strong>

The Planeteers swung dangerously above the vat of acid. Bound together, their backs touching, they grasped each other's hands and glanced nervously below. The fumes from the acid made them dizzy and nauseous.

"So, who's it gonna be, Captain Plant-head?" smirked Verminous Skumm. "Your precious eco-freaks or the millions of innocent s that will go kablooey when each one of the three nukes detonate?"

"Times ticking, Planet," laughed Duke Nukem. "Wouldn't want to miss the light-show now, would you?"

Captain Planet hung in the air above Nukem and Skumm, a tortured look on his face. He looked to the Planeteers hanging above the toxic vapours. He wouldn't be able to save them _and_ get to the bombs in time. Three bombs placed in three different countries. If he tried to rescue the Planeteers first the fumes would drain his energy. But without the Planeteers he would cease to exist. It was a stalemate.


End file.
